I'd like some more information about the types of lighting available...

Gluestick

Gluestick

New member
I'm in the process of planning a saltwater aquarium, and in reading many, many books on the subject, I've noticed that there are a lot of different types of lighting to choose from. What they I would like to know more about is: initial cost, cost to replace bulbs, cost to operate, pros/cons of each type of lighting. Also, none of my books talk much about t-5 HO or VHO lighting, or blue actinctic Could someone please fill me in? I want to go with either 90 or 120 gallons, pre-drilled, and I would like to get lighting that leaves the option open for whether or not I can have corals. Thanks much for the info! I like the idea of the orbit systems that have the night lights and such... Also, how do timers work with the lights?
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6760112#post6760112 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by AllenFord_SC
Go with a T-5 or VHO retro kit. This will let you keep lots of LPS and Softies and will leave you the option to upgrade to Metal Halides in the future.
Here is plenty of info on lighting.
http://www.drsfostersmith.com/pic/category_summary.cfm?dept_id=0&siteid=6&acatid=287
Click to expand...

Why buy something now and have to upgrade later??? Seems kind of silly to me. You can pick up a couple MH retros for around $300 complete.
 
yeah but also if you shop around you can get great deals, I work with lighting its my job, and i tell you somthing, that everyone of you should be aware of, Your getting Ripped Off, just because its for use in a fish tank or out side in a security light the eletrical stuff costs the same.

but because this is a specialist subject they feel they can quadrouple the price. if i told you the price i pay for my MH lamps in my works ud all have heart attacks.

anyway point is i got some lighting off e bay brand new 2 t5s 1 marine fight 1 atanic for Ã"šÃ‚£20 u can hang them or sit them on tank, they even sell MH full set ups for around Ã"šÃ‚£100.

they based in england but i think they ship anywhere

check them out the product quality is excellent

http://stores.ebay.co.uk/EQJ-Trading-LTD
 
If you are looking to have an all around light with a low cost to run, and be able to have nice corals, then look into the T-5 setup.
There are plenty of beautiful tanks out there with T-5's on them, a few months ago tank of the month had nothing but T-5's on it. Its worth looking into for sure
 
First off...........what would you love in the tank?
Clam SPS corals.......=MH lighting.
FOWLR and soft corals = VHO
If you get Ice Cap 660 ballast and URI / VHO bulbs...you will be buying the best quality with the most flexability.
If you later want MH (and you will) then the VHO set-up will serve as suplimental/Actinic lighting.
In this hobby, buy quality......you will pay more in the end if you try and save with some cheap stuff. JMO
 
whatever you do don't buy off aquatraders, just thought i would give you a warning lol I just bought some MH/PC light for my new 25 gal and i payed a little under $400 for only a 24" set up. I agree that a retrofit will be cheaper, but i'm telling you it's going to be expensive. If you get a nice power compact set up you can keep pretty much anything besides the high light coral, like clans and SPS and some LPS. Have you gone to drsfostersmith.com or marinedepot.com you can check out all their lights and get a price range. Ebay is a little cheaper though, i saves abput $40 buying on there.
 
can you give me a couple brands that are good? how much wattage do i need for a 90 or 120 gal? so metal halide is better than vho?
 
how expensive is metal halide to operate compared to pc? i know you have to replace the bulb once a year...
Does anyone have any opinions on the orbit metal halide setups with the moolights?
 
ok and so you can put a mh light in a vho fixture? do i want blue actinctic with the mh? i dont even know what the differences in these lights are! except price$$$
 
I was actually going to buy the outer orbit metal hailde, but they were out so i bought the coralife pro metal halide. How many inches wide is your tank. If it's 72" the light will run you about $700-$800 and the bulbs will be about $30-$90
 
I'll try to answer with as much detail as possible:

What do you want to keep in your tank (as has allready been posed).

If you want high light/high demand (i.e. pristine water) creatures (like SPS, anemones, and many clams) you will want a high light solution typical choice here is a T5 HO setup or a MH setup.

If you want low-medium light corals (only LPS, and softies, and some claims) you can get away with PC/VHO.

MH vs T5: (for high light creatrues):

MH Pro: shimmer lines. People who like MH always come back to this as one of the things they like about them (this is the "shimmer" effect you get when you shine a point source light into water). It looks cool to some.

MH Pro: Point source of light. This can be good if you want to raise a varity of corals. Point sources of light will give you gradations of lighting (some bright, some dim) for placing corals into areas that are suited for them.

MH Con: Most MH systems are more expensive to a) run as they are hight wattage and b) replace bulbs in (MH bulbs typically degrade their usable frequency of light quicker than flourcesent bulbs).

T5 Pro: Less expensive to run and less expensive per bulb (but typically you will have more to replace).

T5 Pro: It's been said these give of less heat than MH so depending on your setup you may find this a more attractive option

T5 Pro/Con: It's a linear light source so there are less "shaded" areas. Depending on what you are going to raise this may be a plus or a minus.

T5 setups are typically lower profile (they are typically done closer to the water (1-3") than MH setups (6-12"). Think about where your tank is going to go. Can you handle a hood that is another 9-15" above your tank top?

VHO and PC I can't say to much about, but in my experience, VHOs and PC are very similar.

Actinic is the "blue" light you are talking about. It tends to give corals "pop"... makes them seem brighter or flourscent...MH won't have these actinic bulbs (many MH users will use either T5 or VHOs to suppliment there main MH lighting to get this light/affect)

Wow that's a lot.... questions?

Dave
 
Ohhhh yeah, as amber said the tank dimensions will figure into this as well...

Cost as near as I can tell is pretty equivalent in setup you can always find cheaper, but that's not always better in the long run.

Dave
 
IT will probally bump your electric bill $20-$30 a month depending on what your bill is normally and where you live. Just be sure to turn off lights in your house and turn off TVs ect.. when not using them and it will help make your bill not go up
 
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